²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. ²²The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. ²³Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; ²⁴for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

Persecution exploded the church beyond the confines of Jerusalem and Jews; God is not limited in His means for spreading the gospel! The first major center of Gentile believers was Antioch, about three hundred miles north of Jerusalem and fifteen miles from the Mediterranean Sea. Cosmopolitan center that it was, the city enjoyed good trade, intellectual pursuits, and political ambitions. Yet in a strange juxtaposition of cultures, pagan religions of all sorts proliferated along with brutal athletic competitions and other degrading activities.

Most interestingly, Antioch was home to a large Jewish population who were fully Hellenized into the Greek culture. Some of them were most probably present at the day of Pentecost and were part of the non-Hebrew Jews whose widows were being neglected in the Jerusalem church’s benevolence. We note that one, “Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,” was among the seven men selected to rectify the problem (Acts 6:5). The church that formed there was mostly Gentile (see Acts 11:19), the early converts probably being from among the proselytes (Gentiles converted to Judaism). Most significantly, the church established there became the staging area for the apostle Paul’s mission tours, which we shall see beginning in Acts 13.

Clearly, “the hand of the Lord was with them.” Neither persecution nor cultural barriers could stop the spread of the gospel. Word went out to the believers in Jerusalem. Accepting the Samaritans’ conversion to the gospel and Cornelius’ conversion with a small company of others was one thing. But now a large community of Gentiles was congregating not far from Jerusalem. So the Jerusalem believers sent trusted Barnabas, a man highly respected as “a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” to check things out.

What did he find? The grace of God was abundantly evident! There was nothing to be concerned about; there was every reason to rejoice. He simply encouraged them “with resolute heart” to continue being faithful to the Lord. Luke concludes his assessment of the budding church in Antioch with a simple statement of its incredible growth in converts.

Lord, thank You that there are no limitations on what You desire to do in the spread of the gospel message.